Despite loving the fact that he had moved away from his bullies in his old school, Theo despised living with his alcoholic father. Just two days, he would tell himself. Two days until he returns to his old life. In one hand, he got to be united with his twin brother, Rowan, and his mother. In the other hand…
Being scared should not be on his list. It has been one year since he moved. Surely the bullying must have died down or reported to the authorities. Plus, he has been working on his physical health for a long time. He was not going to let some random people take over from him.
On the day he returned to his hometown, he found no one waiting for him in the train station. That’s odd, he thought to himself, confused. Was his mother or brother not notified about his arrival?
Though, it was not like they were exactly close. He would chat with his mother a few times, but Rowan never responded to his calls or messages. Not even once. His social media was inactive throughout the entire year. Whenever Theo would ask his mother about Rowan, she would make up an excuse. She always seemed so fragile that he had no heart to push her and make her tell the truth.
After realising that no one knew he was here, he decided to go to the house himself. The problem was thar he could not remember where it was since it had been a year. Outside the train station, he patted a boy’s shoulder and asked, “Excuse me, um, can you-”
“Rowan?”
Theo blinked. The boy’s voice sounded a bit familiar. “Um, who are you-?”
The boy suddenly grabbed Theo by the shoulders, making him almost jump out of his skin. “You’re out of jail already?”
Nauseated by his breath and closeness, Theo pushed him hard, making him land on the floor. “Personal space, buddy! And no - I’m Theo, not Rowan. What jail are you talking about? Who are you? And how do you know?”
The boy looked up at him. “We’ll talk at your house.”
Theo was not going to let this stranger into his house, so they decided to talk in a nearby café. He learnt, while intensely sipping his coffee, that this boy was Rowan’s classmate, Lucas, and that he was just passing by the train station when he saw him.
“Oh,” Theo said: “So … what about the jail thing?”
Lucas blinked. “You don’t know about the jail thing?”
“Obviously not.”
“Have you not been in contact with Rowan?”
“NO! I…” It was sickening to admit that a random stranger knew more about his own brother than him. “I haven’t talked to Rowan for one year.”
Lucas’ expression was filled with pity. “Oh, I’m sorry. You can meet your mother! She’s, uh, at the hospital.”
Anxiety pooled into his stomach. “What?”
“She’s in a coma. Ever since Rowan’s been in jail-”
“Rowan’s been in WHAT?”
It was as if someone had dropped a brick on his head. Rowan was known to be the opposite of him. Perfect student, head captain of the basketball team, social butterfly, everyone’s favourite…he was known to be an extremely well-mannered child. Out of all people Theo knew, he was the last person to end up in jail.
Lucas shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t think it’s my place to tell you, since I don’t know the entire story myself. Rowan will tell you everything. All I know that he wanted to get revenge on something.”
Theo’s mind was running a hundred miles per hour. This was not good. Not good at all. What happened when he wasn’t here? His mum’s in a coma, Rowan’s in jai l…
Theo suddenly stood up, starting Lucas: “Do me a favour, ” he said.
***
From the rusting bars of the cells to the prisoners inside, everything was musty in this police station. A stench hung in the atmosphere, with a lingering hint of alcohol. As he followed the police officer to Rowan’s cell, he passed by many old prisoners, all filthy and minding their own businesses. Occasionally, he would find bugs trying to crawl up his legs and mosquitoes hovering over his arms. Should’ve dragged Lucas with me here, he thought, swatting a musquito on his elbow.
“We’re here,” the police officer said, making Theo stop at his tracks. He stared at his brother, who looked right back at him, with a playful smile. It was like looking at a battered-up version of himself wearing a prison suit: tousled hair, scarred face, and bruised arms. What had happened to him?
Rowan’s smile remained when the police officer left. He had been waiting for Theo anyway.
“So what do you want to know?” Rowan said aimlessly, crossing his legs and leaning against the wall. He was amused by seeing Theo’s disgusted reaction to his cell. Maybe, if they had time, he could give him a room tour.
Theo refused to sit anywhere. “You. What on earth are you doing here?”
“I committed a crime and ended up here.”
“What’s the crime?”
“How did you find me?”
“Answer my question first.”
Rowan scratched the back of his neck. It felt strange talking to someone else other than police officers and old men. “I almost killed someone.”
Silence.
It took five seconds for Theo to break silence with an awkward laugh. “Right… yeah.”
“Have a seat, Theo.”
“No- I need context.”
Everything started on the day when Theo left. Theo’s memory was hazy but Rowan remembered exactly what happened that day: him crying to his mother, wailing that he didn’t want to stay with Dad, despite the fact that he was stabbed by his bullies several times. The school did not do anything, so their father decided to take him in, before he started drinking.
Missing his brother was one thing. Looking at the bullies laughing their heads off in school was another. It was enough to annoy him to the point he decided to confront them. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor with several boys standing over him with their scissors and blades. It wasn’t until he started to attack back with the same force did a teacher come in and screamed. By that time, five boys were already bleeding.
According to the evidence, Rowan had done clever self-defense, and that the bullies made the first attack. However, Rowan did hurt the boys severely to the point one of them almost died, which was why he was jailed.
That was the first time. When he got out of jail after 2 months, he found out that his mother had been terribly sick. One of the bullies’ father, the chairman, made sure that she didn’t receive proper treatment from any of the hospitals. Again, Rowan’s anger ticked off. On the day of the elections, he attacked the chairman, earning his one year long arrest and a wild reputation.
“There you have it.” Rowan smiled, as if this was all nothing. “Have you met Mum yet?”
He could see the wave of emotions pass through Theo as he sat down, crossing his wobbly knees. “No…Rowan ...”
“We’ll meet her together, then.” Rowan looked up at the broken ceiling. “It’s my last day today.”
